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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
• "Is that email a scam?" - Check it online here!
  
• Frequently asked Questions (419 FAQ)
• Phone numbers used by 419 scammers
  (+225 +229 +234 +27 +31 +32 +34 +44 other)
• Company names mentioned in 419 spam:
  1 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
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Victims never receive this non-existent fortune but are tricked into sending their money to the criminals, who remain anonymous. They hide their real identity and location by using fake names and fake postal addresses as well as communicating via anonymous free email accounts and mobile phones.

Read more about such scams here or in our 419 FAQ. Use the Scam-O-Matic to verify suspect emails.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • ",000,000" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
• This email message is a fake lottery scam. Consider the following facts about real lotteries:
  
  1. They don't notify winners by email.
  2. You can't win without first buying a lottery ticket.
  3. They don't randomly select email addresses to award prizes to.
  4. They don't use free email accounts (Yahoo, Hotmail, etc) to communicate with you.
  5. They don't tell you to call a mobile phone number.
  6. They don't tell you to keep your winnings secret.
  7. They will never ask a winner to pay any fees to receive a prize!
• This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
  • +447031909785 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
  • +448709744065 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: Zurich Lotterien <schloss@schloss.tie.cl>
Reply-To: hepservice1@live.com
Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2008 15:02:48 -0400
Subject: FILE :ZL/08/4008

Zurich Lotterien
Central Office.
Management and Central Services:
Weg 205 B - 02241, zum Erfolgreichen, Switzerland.

From The Promotions Department of Zurich Lotterien.

We are pleased to inform you of the result of the just concluded annual final
draws of Zurich Lotterien Program.

Zurich Lotterien draws was conducted from an exclusive list of 20,000,000
e-mail addresses of individual and corporate bodies picked by an automated
random computer ballot search from the internet as part of our international
promotions program which we conduct every year. No tickets were sold.

This program is organized by the international lotto and games subcommittee,
endorsed by the European lottery guild in conjunction with NGO organizations

in Switzerland.

After this automated computer ballot, your e-mail address attached to serial
number 02-87-87 drew the lucky numbers 4-11-41-26-02-62, which consequently
emerged you as one of first ten (10) lucky winners in the United Kingdom
category.

You have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay off of (One Million EURO)
in cash credited to file ZL/08/4008.

For more Information Contact Help Service:

Zurich Lotterien
Information and Payment Bureau:
London Representative Office
Help Service Contact
Tel:+44 703-190-9785
Fax:+44-870-974-4065
E-mail:helpservicezurich@live.com
:bureau2008zurich@live.com


Mrs. Kirt Loberg.
Promotions Manager.
Zurich Lotterien

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam